The American elections from the perspective of Italians

The world watches closely as the United States gears up for its next presidential election. In Italy, a country that shares deep historical ties, the political sway of the U.S. evokes a range of responses in its own electoral process and most certainly, in public discourse. How do Italians perceive the current electoral events?

Palermo, Italy — The relationship between the U.S. and Italy spans various sectors involving a wide range of areas such as politics, economics, culture, and defence. 

Politically, both nations collaborate closely within international organizations like NATO and the United Nations, working together to address global challenges. Economically, the U.S. and Italy engage in significant trade and investment, with numerous American companies operating in Italy and vice versa. Culturally, the exchange of ideas, art, and education between the two countries has enriched both societies, fostering mutual understanding and appreciation. In terms of defence, the U.S. and Italy maintain strong military ties, participating in joint exercises and missions to ensure regional and global security. 

According to Ouimaima Arfaoui, an expert in U.S. and International Relations, International Corporation Development, and Immigration, “American elections are not viewed as distant events, but more or less as signals that shape and mirror Italy’s own politics and cultural landscape. It all depends on who’s winning.” 

Arfaoui told Ark Republic that the American elections have had a significant impact on Italians politics and public opinion in general, especially after the second world war.

From the Cold War era, the relationship has remained strong in spite of a number of dramatic changes in both the international system and Italian domestic politics. The United States became Italy’s indispensable ally. This relationship remained consistently strong, even accounting for some inevitable ups and downs.

Italy became a key battle ground in the Cold War and the American influence was really strong. The US supported the christian democrats against communism in a time when Propaganda heavily influenced Italian politics. Eventually the US aimed to prevent the communist’s victory and this was another way by which American politics directly shaped Italian political choices.

According to Dr. Francesco Buscemi, an author, TV writer and professor of Communications in Cattolica University Rome, Italy also imitated the US political style. Since the 1950s, the U.S. was more practical and simpler than Italy, politically.

What is now considered normal—presidents around the world using social media to communicate directly with the public—was first discovered by Americans in the 1930s. During that time, Italy was under fascist rule, and leaders like Mussolini used propaganda to communicate.

“We didn’t have a credible system of information during the fascism error in Italy, but it existed in the United States.” Buscemi commented.

Italy slowly adapted to the U.S. form of political communication.  

The mass migration of Italians to the U.S. in the late 19th century was a notable anchor of historical relations. The migration birthed various innovations. Italians introduced new foods and new ways to share food together and this largely affected the food consumption in the US.  

Furthermore, Dr. Buscemi told Ark Republic that Americans introduced the sogno americano, which is the American dream. The Italian immigrants would bring back a different way of living from the Americans way of life. 

Italian culture heavily influenced the American one in the 20th century by reshaping the Hollywood scene with the introduction of Italian thematic films especially with famous directors such as Martin Scorsese. Before there was Scrosese’s work, the popular Italian films depicting a rich home country landscape and history were imported by newly arrived immigrants.  

Italian creativity was also merged with the U.S. way to create global fashion lines that have stayed relevant till date.  

In terms of diplomatic ties, Italy’s relations with the US have always been characterised by strong military and economic ties. “Italy as a NATO member itself has always been a strategic ally of the US in Europe housing the US military base for instance by supporting the American missions in the mediterranean and the middle east,” Arfaoui added.

Economically, at the same time the US has always been a vital trading partner of Italy. However, Arfaoui continues by saying that the relationship hasn’t always been without friction. The Italian historical ties to Russia and its energy dependence sometimes lead to different opinions on International policies like sanctions in Russia.

 “Political shifts in Italy for example the rise of populist leaders like Silvio Berlusconi and the more recent Lega Matteo Salvini,” Arfaoui remarked, “sometimes showcases a blend of admiration and criticism towards US politics of course depending on who is in power in the US.”

U.S. elections and Italian media

Over the decades the general Italian public and the media has paid close attention to American elections, they perceive them as the indicator of global political power. This is evident as nearly all media outlets in Italy are closely following the US elections, featuring them prominently in their headlines.

Arfaoui remarked that the Italian media closely follows the US elections but there’s an Italian twist in it. U.S. Politics in Italy are often covered through the lens of personalities and drama. Sometimes they focus less on policy ideas and more on the characteristics and narratives. 

During the 2016 elections, she noted, many newspapers compared Trump to Silvio Berlusconi’s populist and entrepreneurial style. A comment that was heavily seconded by Dr. Buscemi. 

In line with Dr. Buscemi’s opinion, in the 1990s, everything media related in Italy changed because Berlusconi created political populism, communicating in an even more direct way to Italian people. He even drew a comparison between Berlusconi’s style and Trump’s, particularly when Trump was spotted serving fries at McDonald’s. However, not much is seen in terms of discussions on policy matters in the Italian media compared to other European countries.

“Italian media tends to be less analytical and more emotive in its coverage of U.S. elections, so if we take Italian outlets like Corriere Della Sera or La Repubblica they often focus on the charisma populism while in the US they highlight the aspects that resonate with their own domestic politics,” Arfaoui explained.

Harris or Trump on immigration, Ukraine, and Israel

If we have to reflect on U.S. elections and how it could impact Italy in the political and economic sectors, we can say that the outcome of the American elections either way has a direct or indirect impact on Italy. If we start politically, if an American administration signals Trump’s support for the European Union or Nato, it usually tends to reinforce Italy’s commitment to both.  However when the US adapts more nationalist policies, for instance during the Trump administration, it usually encourages similar sentiments within Italy and particularly among right wing parties.

Economically, U.S. elections usually affect Italian trade policies and diplomatic priorities because if we take Biden’s administration which supports renewable energy and climate change initiatives, it pushes Italy to align itself to similar policies which is good. 

The election of Giorgia Meloni as prime minister of Italy in September 2022 appeared to be another victory for Europe’s far right. Her party, Fratelli d’Italia (Brothers of Italy) – known for explicitly boasting about its fascist roots – won a landslide in the election. A result from this win was the formation of a coalition with the far-right Lega (League party) and the centre-right Forza Italia (Let’s Go Italy). U.S. President Joe Biden cited Italy during a speech later that month in which he warned about the potential consequences of the right’s ascendancy for democracy.

Dr. Buscemi explained that if Kamala Harris wins, Italy’s right wing government will probably move towards the European Union and might experience a weaker relationship with the US. However, If Donald Trump would win that would strengthen the US Italian relations and they would form a sort of global alliance to manage immigration.

Meloni built a pragmatic relationship with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, notably focusing on the need to curb irregular migration to the EU. She even avoided unnecessary clashes with the Italian right’s most beloved foe in Europe, French President Emmanuel Macron. 

When Meloni took office, her goal was to win credibility with Italy’s allies, especially those from the U.S. International recognition would help Meloni to increase her domestic popularity and consequently her leadership over the Italian right. 

According to Valerio Benito Limido, a right-wing candidate for the position of councillor in the Rome municipality under the Brothers of Italy party, the right wing in the US is very different from the right wing in Italy. “In the US, there are two large parties, the Democrats and the Republicans. In some aspects ideally, as a right wing member, I am more close to the Republicans,” he affirmed

Dr. Buscemi speculates that, “the same people in Italy who supported Meloni in 2022 are the same who identify with Trump.”  According to his thoughts and opinions, he believes that many consider Trump as the solution for many problems in the western world, even though he strongly disagrees with Trump’s and Meloni’s policies.

Just like Trump, Giorgia Meloni focuses on the mismanagement of immigration.

Limido believes that providing aid to low-income countries is the most effective strategy to reduce immigration. He said that historically, Italians found and respected rules in the countries they visited. From his point of view, the current problem is that there are many desperate people who try to seek a better life in Italy yet they do not have normal means to access it, hence they find these dangerous solutions risking their lives and carrying out desperate actions.

“If not controlled, bad things tend to occur and immigrants find themselves in difficult situations,” he commented. 

Limido, who characterized Trump as having a distinctive personality, firmly stated that he would vote for him for one straightforward reason: During his presidency, he was the only U.S. president under whose administration there was no war. “Obama had a very open minded style of politics but during his time, there were wars, same as Biden’s administration.” He told Ark Republic. He continued to assert that he hopes that Trump wins so that the wars in Ukraine and Palestine would be over.

As for Arfaoui, she would opt for a U.S. president that is most supportive to immigration and immigrants, as one herself. At the same time, as an environmentalist, whoever implements green politics would definitely catch her interest.

She observed that Italian citizens concerned about immigration would definitely opt to vote for a U.S. president with the same concerns too. “Young voters are more environmentally conscious so they would definitely support parties who care about climate change and human rights issues.” She said,

Kamala Harris has made abortion rights central to her campaign. As the current vice president, she also helped pass the Inflation Reduction Act, which has funnelled hundreds of billions of dollars to renewable energy, and electric vehicle tax credit and rebate programmes.

As for Dr. Buscemi, he does not support the current government because they’re supporting tax evasion, they want to limit the power of the judges and their policies of handling immigration even those of Trump are completely wrong. 

He also said that even though he doesn’t think that Giorgia Meloni is fascist in the sense of Mussolini, he believes that she wants to somehow refurbish fascism. In addition her party also has people who somehow look up to fascism as something positive. Moreover he confirmed that she is a right wing politician just like Donald Trump and they both want to limit civil rights and the rights of women.

“I believe we need to find better ways to regulate immigration, otherwise we give the right-wing people a way to say immigration is something negative rather than a positive value in a country,” he informed Ark Republic.

Italian perspectives on US politics strongly mirror their own internal political landscape. As Limido pointed out, the Italian right shares similarities with the Republican Party, leaving little doubt that many Italians who supported Giorgia Meloni would also back Trump. However, this is contrasted by a rising younger generation that is more focused on civil rights and climate change, and who are more likely to identify with Kamala Harris.